Mars’ Black, Ceh playing key roles for Planets
ADAMS TWP — The ability to walk precedes the aptitude to run.
Mars junior forwards Remi Black and Ryan Ceh pay attention to the basics and, with that, the Planets’ towering boys basketball tandem sets the groundwork for so much more.
“With big guys, sometimes the simplest things get lost,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “With big guys, catch the ball. The first thing you’ve got to do before you score is you’ve got to catch the ball. They are both doing a great job of that. They’re not having the ball ripped away from them, they’re keeping the ball high.
“They’ve done a nice job as the season’s gone on of keeping it simple. And as long as they continue to do that, they give us a lot of flexibility because most teams don’t have two guys who are that versatile at 6-6, 6-7.”
It’s becoming more and more of a luxury as the Planets progress through the schedule. That much was evident as the Planets dispatched section foe Chartiers Valley at home on Jan. 13.
“Tonight, these two guys decided, ‘Hey, we’re the biggest guys on the floor by far, we’re going to control the paint, we’re going to limit them to one (shot per possession), we’re going to alter shots,’” said Carmody after the 71-34 win over the Colts. “When that happens, it’s tough because we don’t have one of them, we have two guys down there.”
Black has averaged a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game, with Ceh not far behind at 8.5. The former wasn’t prominent in the points category early on. He’s evolved into a consistent double-digit presence on the scoreboard and Carmody contends that he might be Mars’ best passer.
Ceh has been good for 14.5 points per contest, second on the crew only to senior guard Tasso Sfanos (26.5).
“Ryan is definitely your new-age kind of big high school player where he’s more perimeter-oriented,” Carmody said. “He can go in and dunk, but now when he steps out and starts making threes, it opens everything up for us. Remi has that ability, too. He just has to continue to get comfortable. “Both those guys have to just stay engaged on the defensive side … and rebound and give us coverage — and they take up so much ground with their length.”
Ceh’s ability to knock down shots from downtown came before he shot up in height.
“That’s what kids do,” said Ceh, who considers himself more of a wing than a true center. “You shoot threes. You watch the NBA and people shoot threes, so you want to shoot threes. The height just kind of came with it and the shot never left.”
He first noticed the benefits of the growth spurt during his ninth-grade year. Suddenly, grabbing boards wasn’t too much of a task.
“Growing up, I wasn’t a huge kid,” Ceh said. “I was just always in the paint … I played on the freshman team and Remi and I got a lot of rebounds. It was just never something I did, then when I tried to do it, it was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t that hard.’”
When you factor in Sfanos — who recently surpassed 1,000 career high school points — defenses are forced to pick their poison.
“We have Ryan draining threes non-stop,” Black said. “When they’re focused on Ryan, it comes to me. That’s how I get my points — by rebounding and getting the ball from the guards … That’s my main focus, is just rebounds and put-backs. That’s my game.”
He added that he’d like for the duo to use mismatches more, which should be a scary thought for the opposition. One play in specific gets them both going.
Ceh loves to throw down a jam. Black enjoys setting him up to do so.
“I love throwing those back-doors to Ryan,” Black said. “I love whenever everyone gets hyped. It just gives me chills.”
